


Waterfall

by dizzy



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-18
Updated: 2009-11-18
Packaged: 2017-10-03 07:32:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dizzy/pseuds/dizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Challenge ficlet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waterfall

Sam finds Daniel by a waterfall. She vaguely remembers passing it on their way in, mostly because the Colonel had make a joke about her forgetting to pack her bathing suit. The smaller pool of water that Daniel's sitting beside, one of many on the rocky banks of the lake, is pink and his hands are dripping wet, dampening his face and his hair where he's holding his head in his hands.

She looks down at her own hands and is almost surprised to see them stained with dried blood. She remembers trying to help the half-dead hostage to her feet, and how slippery-warm with blood she'd been. Daniel had taken the woman's other arm, but they'd only gotten a few feet before she took her last gurgling breath.

The adrenaline high of a narrow escape is fading as more details come back to her. They still have a day's hike to the 'gate, but the tribe gave up after two hours and there have been so signs of being followed by anyone in at least four.

Sam sits down beside him and takes her jacket off. She folds it in half and reaches for Daniel's left hand, the one closest to her. She dries it slowly and methodically, rubbing until the flesh is dry and then holding it between her own until it's warm again. The breeze is warm enough but it must be early in this planet's spring because the water is still icy.

She repeats the process with his other hand. He remains silent, his eyes gazing at the waterfall.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She says, actually taking a moment to really look at it.

Daniel doesn't say anything.

"You did what you had to do." Sam takes his left hand in her right one again. Daniel remains passive, lets her rearrange him. "There was no other option."

That gets a reaction, but Daniel appears to be anything but comforted. His lips thin into an angry line and he shakes his head. "There were options. We could have talked to them. I didn't even try-"

"Daniel," Sam protests, gently. "You saw what they did to that woman-"

"We don't know their customs. We don't know anything about them. It's supposed to be my job to help you - you and Jack - to understand alien cultures. I'm supposed to bridge that gap, and I didn't. Instead, I picked up a gun, and I fired it."

Sam forces away the pang of betrayal she feels at how easily Daniel can group her in with every other member of the Air Force, because in this instance she is just another soldier that helps him prove his point.

"You did what you had to do." She repeats.

"No, I did what I felt like doing because I reacted like a soldier and not like a scientist." There's a moment as he contemplates what he has just said. "No one has to die. No one has to kill."

"Some people do." Sam says, and shuts her eyes. She's killed before. She can't remember every pair of eyes that she's looked into in those seconds before she pulls the trigger. She doesn't keep count, couldn't possibly. There are no guarantees that the buildings were empty that she helped to bomb. It could have been women, could have been children.

She lets go of Daniel's hand.

It's her job to protect her country and its people. Daniel never made that pledge. Daniel only wanted to protect one person, and he didn't even manage that. But somewhere along the road, they've had just as much of an impact on Daniel as he has on them. She's seen the change, noted it, occasionally felt proud to have been a part of it but right now it just makes her feel ill.

Daniel tears his eyes away from the waterfall and looks at her. He doesn't say anything, just leaves her feeling overwhelmingly scrutinized. She's never sure what he sees when he looks at her, and this conversation has left her even more unsure.

Next time the Colonel says that someone needs to go look after Daniel, she's not going to volunteer.

He reaches for her hand and takes it back. "You're right. It is beautiful here."


End file.
